Today In Labor History April 3, 1950: Composer Kurt Weill died. Weill’s most famous song was Mack the Knife ("Die Moritat von Mackie Messer"), which became a schlock classic after Bobby Darin’s rendition. However, Weill wrote the song as part of Bertolt Brecht’s “Three Penny Opera,” which was a socialist critique of the capitalist world. Weill was persecuted by the Nazis for his political views and his Jewish heritage. He fled to America, with his wife, singer Lotte Lenya. Some of Weill’s other well-known songs include: Alabama Song (covered by the Doors), Pirate Jenny (covered by Nina Simone), Mack the Knife (also covered by Louis Armstrong), Der Kleine des Lieben Gottes (covered by John Zorn).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6orDcL0zt34
#workingClass #LaborHistory #nazis #antisemitism #holocaust #KurtWeill #LotteLenya #BertoltBrecht #socialism #communism #NinaSimone #LouisArmstrong
"From Nazi Berlin to James Bond: The mysterious world of Lotte Lenya
As Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny returns to the stage, what became of the woman who first brought it to life?
In everything she did, Lotte Lenya left behind a compound of wilfulness, pain, aggression and wild, effusive charm. The singer and actress was a contradiction: one could speak of her as a creature of 'obvious mystery and still make sense.
After years of coming close to fame, confirmation of her celebrity arrived in a villainous guise with the 1963 James Bond film *From Russia with Love*, the second in the franchise. Described in advance by Esquire as the 'miscasting of the year', Lenya’s ghastly, sadistic (and lesbian) Rosa Klebb proved an inspired choice, from the chewed-off hairstyle to the toxic knife blade concealed in her shoe. She enjoyed remarking that people looked with apprehension at her footwear ever afterwards.
Rosa Klebb aside, she is best known for her professional and personal partnership with Kurt Weill. This week, **, the satirical opera Weill wrote with Bertolt Brecht, is being revived at the London Coliseum for English National Opera, with Danielle de Niese in the role of Jenny, the pragmatic prostitute originally played by Lenya.
Pragmatism was a skill Lenya developed from an early age."
track by Chabliz
Mack the Knife
Originally posted on October 14, 2019
‘Mack the Knife’ was #1 on this day in 1959. This is the most read Ted Tocks feature of all time. Over 10,500 page views and counting.
“There are some who are in darkness
And the others are in light
And you see the ones in brightness
Those in darkness drop from sight”
Today’s feature song is familiar to many. The best part is it has been covered by artists numbering into the hundreds and it has a history that sees it entering its tenth decade of popularity. The …
Musical Interlude: Listened to some Kurt Weill today, and remembered this track from his wife, Lotte Lenya, a song I find immensely lovely and comforting all at once.
"Speak Low," performed by Lotte Lenya.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jULhrwOmGOY
#MusicalInterlude #Jazz #KurtWeill #LotteLenya #OneTouchOfVenus #LoveSong
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Happy Independence Day!
The Top Ten Ted Tocks featuring American artists and a couple of bonus songs. Enjoy some quality music from #warrenzevon #johnprine #bobbiegentry #Queensryche #leadbelly #ramjam #JerryJeffWalker #tinytim #LotteLenya and #bobbydarin plus a whole lot more.
Have a grateful day!
Musical Interlude: Ever feel indecisive? Can't settle on something? Kurt Weill understood, and wrote a great justification for it. Here it is, by the great diva herself.
"The Saga of Jenny," performed by Lotte Lenya.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4oU7THKC5E
#MusicalInterlude #LotteLenya #KurtWeill #IraGershwin #LadyInTheDark #Broadway
Today In Labor History April 3, 1950: Composer Kurt Weill died. Weill’s most famous song was Mack the Knife ("Die Moritat von Mackie Messer"), which became a schlock classic after Bobby Darin’s rendition. However, Weill wrote the song as part of Bertolt Brecht’s “Three Penny Opera,” which was a socialist critique of the capitalist world. Weill was persecuted by the Nazis for his political views and his Jewish heritage. He fled to America, with his wife, singer Lotte Lenya. Some of Weill’s other well-known songs include: Alabama Song (covered by the Doors), Pirate Jenny (covered by Nina Simone), Mack the Knife (also covered by Louis Armstrong), Der Kleine des Lieben Gottes (covered by John Zorn).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6orDcL0zt34
#workingClass #LaborHistory #nazis #antisemitism #holocaust #KurtWeill #LotteLenya #BertoltBrecht #socialism #communism #NinaSimone #LouisArmstrong
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